Building Bike Networks

Over the last few years, Austin has been adding striped bike lanes to streets all over the city. Now, the City is embarking on a three-year project to bolster that network – connecting some of the lanes and adding barriers to more bike lanes to make them more appealing to more people.

It’s all part of People for Bike’s Big Jump Project, which is helping 10 cities – including Austin – to reimagine their bike infrastructure. The goal is to double or triple bike ridership in some areas of the cities.

In Austin, what that means is closing the gaps in the bike network, keeping bike lanes clear of debris, and giving bike lanes more physical separation from vehicles on streets. Austin hopes to convert 7% of trips in the central city from car to bike trips.

More accessible and safe bike lanes also mean more people will be able to try bike riding as an option, saving money and time. And that means better flowing streets for all travelers in and around Central Austin.

“It’s not about what we can do for bicycling, but about what bicycling can do for us,” says Laura Dierenfield, the city’s active transportation manager, in a StreetsBlog article about Austin’s plan. “The more trips we can convert to bicycling, the more reliable the entire transportation system becomes for everyone.”

Spotlight

Our latest Commute Hero is actually a group of heroes: the folks at Capital Metro who are helping to make this time of year merry and bright for Central Texans. From Stuff the Bus, which helps provide food for families in need, to their work to increase frequency on Austin’s most-traveled routes, the busy elves […]

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